


New Beginnings

by thereyoflight



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Children, F/M, Fix-It, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force-Sensitive Finn (Star Wars), Happy Ending, Hope, Hopeful Ending, Leia Organa Lives, One Shot, Past Character Death, Past Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Post-Canon Fix-It, Post-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Redemption, Resurrection, Rey and Ben defeated Palpatine together, Rey is Not a Palpatine, the world between worlds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:48:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22228933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thereyoflight/pseuds/thereyoflight
Summary: After the events on Exegol, Rey is left feeling empty from the loss of her soulmate. With encouragement and support from Leia Organa, Rey returns to Ahch-To with the hope of getting Ben Solo back. There, Rey finds more than she bargained for.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey & Ben Solo, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Reylo
Comments: 8
Kudos: 72
Collections: Reylo Hidden Gems





	New Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> For Rey and Ben, who deserved a happier ending than the one they got.
> 
> Special thanks to Gabriela for beta-reading this for me. You're the best!

The war was over.

She should've been relieved, happy, but she had never felt more defeated. More alone. Something she thought she would never feel again once Ben came back for her.

So she did what she did best. Rey forced a smile and pretended everything was okay. She stuck to her duty at the resistance base, allowing herself to be distracted by it, but the overwhelming absence within her always loomed. She pushed it away, time and time again, but there was no escaping the ever-growing void she felt inside her with each passing day.

Rey decided to return to Ahch-To. She would be alone on the island, away from others, and perhaps she would find the answer she sought: could she bring Ben back? Surely after the events that unfolded on Exegol, someone on the other side would provide an answer. Or so she hoped.

“Ahch-To?” Finn questioned. “Why would you go back there?”

Rose’s eyes were sympathetic as she regarded Rey. Poe’s confused expression matched Finn’s. Leia, whose opinion she was most concerned about, lingered quietly in the background. Rey had pulled them aside to let them know she would be gone for the foreseeable future.

Rey took a deep breath. “The war is over. What’s next? The retreat could provide answers as to what steps we should take next.”

Finn didn’t seem convinced, but didn’t press her for any more information. After all, Rey’s alibi was believable enough and after the year she’d spent with them, she knew she was a good actor. All the connections she’d made with Ben during the year that clearly shook her with emotions were never clear to them beyond surface-level annoyances and frustrations. It brought her no joy to lie to them, but she couldn’t bring herself to tell them the truth if she ended up failing.

Of course, she had told them about what Ben had done for her on Exegol and in Snoke’s throne room. She told them how everything had happened between them, how they grew to care for each other, how she saw goodness in him and how she had been right. She hadn’t expected them to be so understanding about it. She had been afraid to tell them at first, but she couldn’t let them live the rest of their lives thinking she had defeated Palpatine by her own merit. Or that Ben was a villain, when in a lot of ways, he was a hero.

“Okay,” Finn said with a nod. “We’ll be waiting for you when you return.”

“What ship are you taking?” Poe asked.

“The Falcon,” Rey replied, “with Chewie. Like old times.”

The words were true for the most part, Chewie had been with her on Ahch-To. He had supported and believed in her choice to go to Ben as well. She knew he would understand what she was doing. Rey, however, also felt the mission would lift his spirits. He hadn’t been dealing with things well after the final battle, and she couldn’t blame him. She wasn’t either.

Finn and Poe said their goodbyes and returned to their duties. Before Rey could leave, Rose laid a hand on her shoulder. Rey turned to face her. “Be careful,” Rose said.

Rey nodded with a slight smile. “Always.”

Rose smiled as she pulled Rey in for a hug. Rey was taken aback by how moved she was by the gesture and wrapped her arms around Rose. She and Rose had spent a lot of time together over the year and she grew to see her as a sister. And just like any sister, Rey had never been more proud to see Rose become such a vital part of the resistance by securing her rightfully earned position as commander.

“You better,” Rose whispered. “I’ll need my best girl back.”

Rey pulled away, blinking away her tears. “Take care of them for me.”

“Will do,” Rose said, “if they don’t manage to kill each other first.”

Rey chuckled past her tears, and Rose smiled brightly. “I’ll be back soon,” Rey assured. “I promise.”

“I know.” 

Rose disappeared into the day, and Rey was left alone with Leia. She hadn’t realized that the general was looking at her with her classic, warm smile. Leia stood to her feet and approached her. Before Rey could say a word, Leia pressed something into her hand. She looked down to see Han’s signature dice in her palm.

“He’ll be happy to see it again,” Leia said without missing a beat.

Rey looked up at her in surprise. “Leia… how did you…?”

“I have a way of reading people,” Leia said, “but more so, I have a way of observing. I see the way you are around here after everything, and it’s the same way I was after Han…” Leia trailed off, pausing momentarily before continuing. “I didn’t think you would give up so easily after Ben… like I haven’t.”

Rey’s eyes burned. “Leia… I don’t know if any of this is going to work,” she admitted. “I’m just going and hoping that there’s some way, any way, to bring him back. I’m afraid that he truly could be gone.”

Leia offered her a smile. “No one’s ever really gone,” she said. “He proved it to us once. He can do it again.”

Rey nodded, and Leia pulled her into a hug. Tears spilled onto Rey’s cheeks, and she shut her eyes as she embraced Leia. The general had endured so much and still remained hopeful. Rey could only hope she could finally bring Ben back to her. 

“Rey,” Leia whispered as she pulled away. She wiped tears from Rey’s cheeks. “Bring him home.”

Returning to Ahch-To was harder than she thought. As the Falcon approached the familiar island, Rey was overcome with emotion. She remembered what it felt like the first time she had arrived, so full of fear as she walked into the unknown. Things had changed so drastically not only for her, but for Ben as well, on the island. 

“You know why I’m here, don’t you?” Rey asked Chewie as they landed. 

Chewie looked at her fondly before answering.  _ Ben? _

Rey nodded. “Yes. Ben.”

Chewie looked away.  _ Han and Luke would be happy you’re here for him. For trying,  _ he mumbled.

Her eyes burned. “I know.”

The twin suns were descending on the horizon, bathing the sky with a beautiful mix of colors. Rey let her gaze linger over the lush, green vegetation of the island. Even after spending so many months on a green planet, Rey never got tired of it. It always filled her with wonder to see it, so alive, so beautiful.

It was nothing compared to the harshness of Jakku.

Rey returned to her old hut, where the first connection between her and Ben had occurred. Where they had touched across the galaxy. The hut had been rebuilt entirely after Luke had torn it apart after seeing her and his nephew. It looked as if nothing had ever happened. The sight of it pained her as it was another thing that erased their connection, erased him. Her fingertips came up to graze over the scar she’d received in the throne room, thinking perhaps it was the only physical thing she had left of him besides his sweater. 

Rey walked into the hut and let her hands run over the stone, hoping to feel something, anything. She closed her eyes. “If there’s any way to get him back…  _ please _ … show me,” she whispered to whoever would listen.

At that, Rey took a seat in the middle of the hut and closed her eyes. She channeled her despair, allowing herself to feel the movement of the Force around her. “ _ Be with me… _ ” she whispered out into it. “ _ Ben… _ ”

+

_ Whispered voices spoke around her, thousands at a time, too many to decipher. She was engulfed in the darkness of space with stars shining around her. Her feet were on a lit pathway that seemed to stretch on forever, twisting and turning into infinite paths. Dazed and confused as to where she was, Rey walked onward.  _

_ “Hello?” Rey called out. _

_ The voices silenced at once, but Rey continued walking. A figure appeared ahead, and suddenly, something seemed to break open within her. The bond she had felt go silent, roared in response and Rey felt like she was being hurtled forward by an invisible force. The silhouette turned its head, and before she was ripped away from the dream, Rey saw it. Ben’s face--so clear, as if in the flesh, before her--turning toward her. “Rey?” _

Rey awoke with a start, gasping. She looked around the private hut she had on Ahch-To, nearly expecting someone else to be there. Her eyes fell on the staff leaning against the stone wall beside her and the legacy saber laying on the small table beside it. She could never look at it without thinking of Ben and how remarkably he had wielded the saber, his family’s saber. His voice from her dream still rang in her ears, as if he had been in the room with her. Rey took a deep breath as she sat up, swinging her legs over the side of her cot, and buried her face in her hands.

Silently, in the darkness of the night, Rey began to cry.

The next night, the dreams returned again.

_ Rey recognized her surroundings from the previous dream. It was the same space with lit walkways that stretched into infinity, except this time Rey had been placed in front of a circular shape of what felt like an entrance. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as blurry images moved within it. Her vision sharpened as she was secured in the plane she was in. What she saw before her confused her. _

_ Rey recognized herself by the outfit she wore, but seeing herself from an outsider’s perspective was nothing short of odd. Her eyes were full of conflict and sadness as she looked at Finn. _

_ Rey remembered her thoughts and emotions then, churning violently within her at the truth she had hidden away for years. All that time she’d spent on Jakku, waiting for parents who would never return for her. They had sold her off into the hands of an awful man and in little Rey’s desperate attempt to get them to come back, she destroyed their ship and them with it. It was the agonizing guilt of it all, despite how neglectful her parents were, that left her struggling with the darkness she felt within her. _

_ “People keep telling me they know me,” her past self said, eyes brimming with tears. “No one does.” _

_ “But I do,” a voice said behind her.  _

_ Rey froze for a moment as she recognized it. Her eyes filled with tears as her heart tugged with longing. The familiar tug from the previous dream had returned, less violent this time, and it pulled her back towards where she knew Ben was. Rey turned, desperate to see him.  _

_ Rey is torn away once again, his name caught in her throat. _

When her eyes open to the same darkness as before, Rey is overcome with annoyance. She wills herself to whatever place she had been just moments before, but there’s a block preventing her from going where she wills. So Rey lays in the darkness of the hut and thinks.

Ben was supposed to be gone. As excruciatingly painful as it was, Rey had felt the tear in their bond as he died. She had never known loss quite like that; it felt as if there was a gaping wound left in her very soul. However, as she could never forget, they were a dyad in the Force. Two that are one. Neither could live while the other survived, or so was the legend. If that were true, why was she having Force dreams about Ben contacting her? Could it be possible that Ben was still out there, somewhere? 

Hope swelled in her at the thought of somehow getting Ben back. She had spent so much of her life, alone, dreaming of belonging. She hoped the Resistance would give her a sense of one, and while they had, they didn’t understand her. Not like Ben did. 

Not only had Ben known isolation and neglect, but he had known darkness. He knew the darkness that whispered into her ear every night, telling her that her only destiny was darkness. That she could never overcome the darkness, no matter how good she tried to be. The darkness that brought up what she had done. Ben knew that darkness, and he responded to her pain in understanding.

Rey would never forget his words that rainy night on Anch-To:  _ You’re not alone. _

And she would never forget his eyes at that moment and how they shed another layer of a mask he put up and showed a glimpse of who she knew he was deep inside. She would never forget the sadness that shone within the glimmer of tears he held back for her, for him, for both of them. She had heard his words, known the truth in them, and she had responded in the truth she knew in her heart:  _ Neither are you. _

And now, it seemed, Ben was reaching for her again in another seemingly impossible way.

The next night, it was unbearable. 

_ Rey was back in the same place once again. She looked out into the vast expanse of space before her, eyes searching for her one true love. She attempted to walk forward, but her feet are locked in place. She took a glance behind her, seeing a glimpse of another circular shape that showed images of a dark cave, and returned her gaze to the infinite space around her. “Ben?” she called, desperation ringing in her voice. _

_ As she closed her eyes, Rey reached inward, inside of her, to the bond that grew intimate. She takes a deep breath, willing herself to focus, to breathe. She tapped into the bond, felt its strained life, and reached outward. She found another force reaching back. The tugging returns, pulling like a rope around her waist, pulling, pulling, pulling-- _

_ “Rey.” _

Please, don’t tear me from him, _ Rey thought.  _ Not again.

_ Rey opened her eyes and Ben is there. His face is as princely and beautiful as she remembered, his eyes full of gentleness as he regards her. His eyes roamed over her features, as they did that awful day in Exegol, in what felt like their first and last day truly together, as if memorizing her once again before they’re torn apart. Her heart, her body, her soul yearned for him, and she felt the same longing rattling through their bond from him.  _

_ Her eyes burned with tears. “Be with me,” she whispered.  _

_ His words are as heartbreaking as her own. “I’m trying,” he choked out.  _

_ Finally, as they both reached out to each other, something in them both breaks through like a fire. It is hope, reignited with promise. Just as quickly as it had come, it’s torn away as Rey is jolted backwards, away from Ben. Through the portal.  _

_ “No!” she yelled, reaching for Ben against it. _

_ “Rey!” he screamed, his hands reaching out for her.  _

_ Their hands graze each other for a moment, but Rey is already gone. _

_ Rey finds herself somewhere else, looking through a foggy frame at Ben. The sight before her reminds her of the cave on Ahch-To and the very glasslike mirror she gazed into for answers. It’s a twist in her stomach as she pushed at the frame, wanting to go back through to the plane he was on, but they were blocked. “Rey!” she heard Ben yell. _

_ Rey banged her fists against it, hoping for a miracle, and she sees Ben doing the same thing in their desperation to reach each other. “Ben!” The foggy frame gets cloudier and cloudier as they fight against it, their hope draining with it. “No!” Rey begged. “Please!” _

_ They’re both screaming for each other, begging whatever good is left in the universe to help them, to no avail. The murkiness solidifies, silencing Ben and erasing his figure entirely, as if he were never there. Rey is left looking into her own broken eyes, a too familiar sight. _

Rey opened her eyes to darkness. Anger coursed through her as she sat up. What was the point of these dreams, giving her a false sense of hope, if she was to be constantly torn away from Ben? If she were to be constantly reliving a nightmare? 

Rey took hold of her saber and raced outside. She released the training drone in the air and put on her helmet. She took hold of the metal hilt at her hip and held it out in front of her. The weight of the legacy saber in her hand was taunting. Anger coursed through her as she ignited it and shut the helmet’s faceplate over her eyes.

Rey opened herself to The Force and sprung into action.

She swung the saber, deflecting an attack from the drone. The awareness over her surroundings reminded her of fighting alongside Ben, finally on her side, and the ache in her heart was overpowered by anger. She had felt the relief and happiness pouring from him through their bond, how free he had felt in those moments. The ferocity and determination he had fought with was a blazing fire that fueled her own movements. Most of all, beneath the overwhelming wave of emotions, was his clear and burning love for Rey.

She felt it when he looked into her eyes the first time on Exegol. She’d never seen his eyes so clear, so peaceful. The feeling that coursed through their bond from him to her was unlike one she’d felt before, but she recognized for what it was immediately, and she was sure she had known the feeling after all. Ben loved Rey, and she him.

Rey screamed in frustration as she swung the saber again, her anger for what had happened a fire in her chest. She focused in on the training droid and willed it to work faster, harder. Rey felt the shift in the droid’s settings, and she responded. 

The attacks now upon her were no easy feat, and Rey flew through the air to avoid hits. It brought her back to swinging over Kylo’s TIE. This time, a crushing sensation bursts through her chest. She rolled, before standing to her feet again and swinging the saber once again. 

They had come so far at that point, defeated Palpatine together. All the Jedi of the past had reached out to them both, urging them to rise and finish the story of tragedy once and for all. They had faced Palpatine together, as one. All Rey remembered after that was darkness.

She remembered her lungs filling with air and opening her eyes to see Ben Solo. His hand was on her abdomen and she had barely registered what he had just done for her, because it was  _ Ben _ . She felt relief flow from him. “Ben,” she had breathed. 

Then she had kissed him, a sensation she had been hungry to feel for so long--

Rey screamed as she felt the saber tear through the training droid. She tore her helmet off and she realized she was crying. Her breath was ragged, sweat building on her brow. She stared down at the destroyed droid before shifting her eyes to the legacy saber humming in her hand. 

Rey shut her eyes, tears slipping onto her cheeks, memories of things she wanted to forget running through her mind.

_ She would never forget the sinking feeling in her chest, in her very soul, as life drained out of Ben. His smile before her had been so bright and full of life, too quickly taken from him as it faded with his life. No, she had thought as his body went limp. She fell with him, still clutching his hand as the sinking in her became a tear, each passing moment more painful than the last. It was as if he was taking a part of her with him, and in many aspects, he was. When the last of his breath escaped him, Rey felt a deep part of herself tear away from her, too.  _

_ It was so jarring, so painful, that it left her gasping. _

_ Rey looked down at Ben’s shut eyes in disbelief. “Ben?” she questioned, a hand coming up to gently touch at his face. _

_ Tears escaped her eyes as the crushing reality began to set in. “No, no, no. No, please, Ben,” she cried. “You can’t leave me, too.” _

_ Rey pressed a hand to his abdomen, as he once did, and closed her eyes. She was desperate, thinking of the life he deserved to live. Thinking of Leia, who desperately wanted her son back. Of Chewie. Of Lando. Of the select few that knew Ben could return to them. Rey would’ve given her life for him without a second thought, as he did for her. _

_ Her hand fell through the air as his body shifted underneath it. She opened her eyes to see her hand flat against the ground, against his clothing left behind. “Ben…” she whispered. A sob escaped her as her hand wound a fist through the black sweater he had worn. She took hold of it and pressed it to her face, all she had left of him, and cried into it.  _

Then there was a shift in the air, in her surroundings, in her heart. A tremor passed through the bond she thought dead. Wind moved behind her, past her. There was the familiar feeling of being drawn towards something, or rather someone, before the bond opened. Except now it was a small tug, subtle but powerful in its existence. 

Rey moved her head ever so slightly, and she could feel the wind on her skin, but she swore that for the briefest moment it’s his hand.

Ben’s hand.

She gasped.

“ _ Rey. _ ”

“Ben,” she breathed.

There’s a familiar presence pressing close to her, and Rey finds herself leaning towards it. She closed her eyes, sensing the clear outline of her love before her. So close, she feels, but so far. Her heart aches in her chest as she reaches out for a physicality no longer there. There’s a ghost of a touch along her lips and everything inside her ignites with the familiarity of it. 

Flashes of images flicker behind her eyes: the entrance to the cave, the water surrounding her, Ben’s hand on the portal as he reached for a past Rey seeking answers. 

“ _ Come find me. _ ”

Rey’s eyes shot open, half-expecting Ben to be there, but she is alone. Alone, for now, but not for long. She turns, and she feels the guidance of the Force, pulling her toward where she needs to go.

And so, into the unknown, Rey goes. 

+

Rey’s body plunged into the frigid water, nearly knocking the breath out of her by its jarring temperature. The experience in the water this time was better than last. She still didn’t know how to swim, that was true, but she didn’t struggle entirely on reaching the surface. Her head broke the surface of the water, and she pulled herself over the ledge out of the water to face the cave’s mirrored wall. 

The Force pulsed around her, closing in, as if something was about to happen.

Rey approached the wall slowly, heart racing. She only hoped that this experience wouldn’t end as it did the last time with unanswered questions and overwhelming loneliness. Rey pressed her fingertips against her reflection. 

“Bring him back to me…” she whispered. “Ben.  _ Please. _ ”

Shadows shifted as her reflection is muddled into darkness. Rey saw a familiar silhouette take shape within the mirror, approaching, before stopping before her. Her heart soared as the reflection laid its hand over hers, a direct mirrored image of her, and she felt the bond flutter in response. It’s an image she’d seen before, in another time in the same place: when she pressed her hand against the same surface asking for her parents. Only now, she’s asking for what she wanted then in the right light. Her true belonging.

Rey found herself in an entirely different place. 

There’s a boy and a girl.

“My name is Anakin,” the boy said, his tone rather aggressive.

The girl’s smile remained. “I’m glad to have met you, Anakin.”

“I was glad to meet you too.”

The scene shifted dramatically, and Rey caught sight of Ben watching everything with her. Before she can react, another scene begun before them.

It’s the girl from before, Rey realized. Older and beautiful.

“Ani?” the girl asked. “My goodness, you’ve grown.”

“So have you,” the boy, the same one from before, said. “Grown more beautiful, I mean.”

“What is this?” Rey asked.

“I don’t know,” Ben replied. 

Another scene change. Everything shifted and changed so fast, showing images of other events in between, that Rey felt as if she was going to get whiplash. She can barely process what’s happening before her.

“It must be difficult, having sworn your life to the Jedi. Not being able to visit the places you like or do the things you like.”

“Or be with the people I love.”

“Are you allowed to love? I thought that was forbidden for a Jedi.”

“Attachment is forbidden. Possession is forbidden. Compassion, which I would define as unconditional love, is essential to a Jedi’s life. So you might say we are encouraged to love.”

“You’ve changed so much.”

“You haven’t changed a bit. You’re exactly the way I remember you in my dreams.”

The scene changed, showing the two sharing a kiss. Another scene of them smiling in a beautiful green planet with waterfalls in the background. The sight made Rey’s breath hitch. Rey then saw an arena in the distance, and the couple had their hands bound before them.

“Don’t be afraid,” the boy said.

“I’m not afraid to die,” the girl said, eyes meeting his. “I’ve been dying a little bit each day since you came back into my life.”

Rey felt Ben eyes on her. She met his gaze just as he tore it away. They’ve both recognized the look in the couple’s eyes. They’ve seen it in each other’s eyes once before.

“What are you talking about?” the boy asked.

“I love you.”

“I thought that we had decided not to fall in love.”

“I truly, deeply love you.”

They kissed, and the scene changed. The boy ran and took the girl into his arms, spinning once with happiness shining through their expressions. He set her down and looked into her eyes with adoration.

“I’ve missed you, Padme,” he said.

“Ani, I’m pregnant,” the girl said. “What are we going to do?”

The boy only smiled. “We’re not going to worry about anything right now,” he assured. “This is a happy moment. The happiest moment of my life.”

Then fear, a path to the dark side. Violent dreams of death, loss. Palpatine, Rey realized with a start, with false promises. Manipulation.

There’s fire burning, unrelenting. A volcanic planet.

“Anakin, all I want is your love,” Padme said.

“Love won’t save you, Padme. Only my new powers can do that.”

“You’re a good person,” she said. “Don’t do this.”

“I won’t lose you the way I lost my mother.”

“Come away with me. Help me raise our child. Leave everything else behind while we still can.”

“The Jedi turned against me,” he said, his voice rising. “Don’t you turn against me.”

“Anakin, you’re breaking my heart.”

“Because of Obi-Wan?”

“Because of what you’ve done. What you’ve planned to do. Stop!” Padme said, her words so quick they tumble over each other in her desperation to bring him back. “Stop now! Come back!” She took one final breath at her last attempt, the only words she has left. “I love you!”

Anakin’s eyes are dark. “Liar!”

Rey gasped at the scene that unfolded before her. She watched in horror as the beautiful woman crumpled to the ground, unconscious. A multitude of scenes that flickered across her vision: a fight, a loss, a death. She watched as the once-beloved Jedi hero is turned into an infamous villain, Darth Vader, and his love gives birth to two children, Luke and Leia, before passing.

A tragedy.

“Bring back the balance,” a voice said. Familiar words she’d heard before. “Live the lives we couldn’t.”

Rey turned, eyes blurry with tears, to see Ben in the same darkness of infinite space and time she’d seen in her dreams. She’s there too, she realized, and there’s someone else. It’s the man from the visions, Anakin, standing before Ben with soft eyes. 

“Palpatine would’ve liked you to believe you were doomed to have the story we had, but you aren’t,” he said. “You get to be happy. Grandson, you get to live. To get all the chances I couldn’t. To atone. With the one you love.”

Ben’s breath shook and Anakin placed a hand on his shoulder, his other hand cupping Ben’s cheek. 

“Your action to save her life was one of a pure heart,” Anakin continued. “Ben… you are a far greater man than I ever was. I am so proud of you, Grandson. You are forgiven, but you must atone. To be and have everything I never could.”

Anakin stole a glance at Rey, and she could see the glimmer in his eyes. “Ben, Rey, may the Force be with you. Always.”

Rey opened her eyes as her hand seeped into the mirror. Her hand closed around another and she pulled instinctively. She fell back as another weight toppled over her. Rey’s back hit the stone beneath her hard, and the breath was knocked out of her as another weight fell over her. 

Rey looked up to see Ben above her. She let out a breath in surprise and her hands came up to cup his cheeks. Her eyes watered as her hands move to his head, curling around his soft hair, trembling in disbelief of what’s before her. She let out a laugh, her eyes gazing into Ben’s, whose own eyes lingered with tears. A tear slipped from her eye, rolling down her face, into her ear, but she couldn’t care less. “Ben,” she whispered, a hand resting on his cheek.

“Rey,” he whispered back, wiping a tear from her face with a gentle caress of his thumb. He smiled that bright smile forever burned in her mind, and her heart melted at the sight. “You found me.”

His voice and his eyes are so light, so unburdened and without weight.

“You’re with me.”

Ben leaned down and pressed his lips against Rey’s. Their bond exploded with a plethora of emotions and thoughts. Immediately, she responded, kissing him back with urgency. Her hand tugged down at his waist while her other gets lost in his hair. Water dropped onto her cheeks and she realized it’s his tears. 

His joy and relief poured over her, wave after wave, pulling her down further and closer to him. She remembered how clear his pain and misery were before, so subtle now compared to the feelings rising from him. It’s this -- how far he’s come -- that makes tears continue to slip from her own eyes. 

Their kisses turned urgent. Rey could barely breathe as Ben’s lips carefully traced her own. Their hands constantly moved, touching the other in shock, everywhere they can as if to remind themselves that they’re both there together. Each movement, each touch, left her skin burning in its wake. There are so many things buzzing through the bond from Ben at once that it’s overwhelming, and she’s left dizzy. 

_ You found me,  _ he said clearly through the bond.  _ I’m with you. I’m here. _

_ I found you,  _ she said back.  _ You’re with me. You’re here.  _

Each kiss is a reminder. It’s how far they’ve come, how much farther they will go. It’s  _ You’re not alone  _ and  _ Neither are you.  _ It’s loneliness extinguished and tragedy rewritten with joy. It’s hope reborn. 

Ben pulled away, and Rey looked up at him in wonder. He shifted from atop her to take a seat beside her as she followed. He looked at her, eyes roaming her features again, before he took her in his arms. She shrieked in surprise as he pulled her into a tight hug, her body splayed over his lap like it was in Exegol. 

“Thank you,” he whispered, “for giving me the strength to turn.”

Rey shook her head as she pulled away. “Ben, no,” she said. “You did that all on your own.” She pressed a hand to his chest, over his heart, feeling his steady heartbeat pulsing beneath her hand. “That strength… it’s always been right here.”

His hand comes up to rest over her own. She nearly laughed at how large his hands are, how they completely capture her own so perfectly. His free hand cupped the back of her neck to pull her closer as he pressed his forehead against her own. 

“I love you.”

“And I love you.”

He kissed her again, gently, before pulling away.

She blinked, remembering. “There’s someone here, someone who’d like to see you.”

+

Rey ran, Ben close behind her.

“Chewie!” she yelled, bolting towards the Falcon. 

“Chewie’s here!?” Ben asked incredulously, stumbling behind her. 

“Keep up the pace, Solo!” Rey yelled. 

Rey stopped in her tracks as she saw the familiar wookie standing in the entrance of the Falcon. He stared at Ben behind her, but he’s too far for Rey to read his expression. Ben took a step forward and before Rey could react, Chewie is yelling and running. He took Ben in his arms, and they’re both crying, clutching at each other for dear life.

Rey approached the reunion silently, tears burning behind her eyes once again. 

“I’ve missed you, buddy,” Ben said. 

_ Not like I’ve missed you _ , Chewie growled.

Ben smiled and turned to Rey. She gestured to the ship. “Well? I think it’s time you fly it.”

Ben’s eyes lit up as he looked at his father’s ship. “You can’t be serious.”

“Why not?” she asked, taking him by the hand and guiding him inside.

Rey felt many things at once. There’s sadness and longing with memories of his father crossing his mind so strongly that she herself saw bits and pieces of them. She saw little Ben running freely across the ship, laughing, with his father close behind. She felt the childlike wonder of the little starfighter watching his father in the pilot’s seat, showing him the ropes of the ship he knows his son will fly someday. She felt the care and love little Ben feels being taken up into his father’s arms, safe, from all the harm he doesn’t even know exists yet. She saw Leia, clearer than a blue sky, with a mother’s smile coming to see what her two best boys are up to.

“I’m sorry,” Ben said suddenly.

Rey turned on her heel to face him. His eyes are red and his lips tremble as he holds back tears. She places a hand on his arm and rubs soothingly.

“I didn’t mean for anything to pass onto your side,” he said. 

“It’s okay,” she whispered. 

Ben nodded and followed her into the cockpit, Chewie close behind. He took a seat in the pilots seat. Rey sat beside him while Chewie took the seat behind Rey. 

Ben took a moment as his eyes looked over everything in front of him, his hands hovering over the controls. He looked up to see Han’s dice. He reached up, tugging it down by one end until it fell into his palm. Both Chewie and Rey watched silently, allowing Ben every moment he needed. Ben inhaled deeply, before hanging the dice back in its normal place.

“Where to?” he asked, looking over at Rey.

“Ajan Kloss,” she said. “Leia’s waiting for you.”

A sad smile crossed his lips and he nodded without another word. He switched on several controls, as if he’d been flying the ship his whole life, and flew the Falcon with ease. They soared into hyperspace and his smile was so bright Rey was sure it could light up all her nights.

And she was going to make sure they did. 

+

When they land on Ajan Kloss, Rey took Ben’s hand as they stepped out of the Falcon. Finn, Poe, Rose, and Leia were waiting for her. Rose sucked a breath in surprise, and Finn’s and Poe’s eyes widened. Leia watched in silence as Ben walked down to her.

“Mom,” is all he said before he engulfed her in a hug. 

Leia embraced her son tightly. “Ben.”

Ben fell to his knees before her, sobs racking his body, as Leia held him close to her. Rey approached silently. Leia opened her eyes and extended a hand out to Rey. She looked down at the general’s open hand and took it with a smile. 

“Ben,” Leia whispered. “Welcome home.”

“I’m sorry, Mom,” Ben sobbed. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she said. “You’re okay. It’s okay. You’re here now. That’s all that matters.”

Leia pressed a kiss to his head, rubbing his back in soothing strokes. Rey leaned down behind him and pressed her head against his back. Her hand left Leia’s to press against his back, reminding him she was there. Chewie appeared and laid a hand on Ben’s shoulder.

And so Ben Solo was home at last, of his own accord, surrounded by those who loved him. Who continued to believe in his goodness, despite the odds. 

+

“What now?” Ben asked as he leaned against the side of the Falcon entrance.

It had been three short months since Ben had come back. It was surprising how quickly those at the Resistance base adjusted to his presence, slowly no longer seeing him as the man he used to be, but the man he proved to be. There were still the select few that still shifted rather uncomfortably by his presence, but it was a process. Finn and Poe were hesitant at first, but they trusted Rey and Leia, so they grew to trust Ben as well.

Rey was surprised to see how Rose and Ben became fast friends. Rose, in fact, had been the first from the Resistance to welcome him so warmly. They had an ongoing thing of talking about their knack for saving what they loved. 

Rey followed behind him, stepping down from the ship’s walkway. She stood by his side and followed his gaze. They were standing in front of the setting sun of Ajan Kloss, the warmth of it bathing orange-light over the greenery of the planet, and over them. Rey could see Ben’s eyes in the sunlight -- warm and chocolate brown -- and she was sure she had never seen anything quite as fascinating. She was biased, she assumed, as she did share a bond stronger than life itself with him, but biased or not, she would never tire of his presence or his beauty. 

“Well,” Rey said, “there’s a whole galaxy out there practically begging to be explored and seen.”

“A whole galaxy waiting for us, you mean,” Ben said. 

Rey turned her head to look at him, a smile spreading across her lips. “ _ Us? _ ” she questioned. “I like the sound of that.”

Ben looked down at her with a smile. “Oh yeah?”

“Mhm,” Rey hummed as she leaned in to kiss him.

“How does Rey Solo sound?” 

She leaned back ever so slightly in bafflement. She blinked at him, but Ben only had a small smile on his face. His eyes were full of expectancy as he waited. 

“Ben…” she breathed. “Are you--?”

“Yes,” Ben answered. “Marry me.”

Rey opened her mouth, trying to find words, but nothing left her lips.

“Rey…” Ben continued. “All my life, I’ve been unsure of every move I’ve made. Until you came into my life. I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life when it comes to you. I’ve never been truly known and understood by anyone in my life, until you. You’re all I could ever dream of and so much more.”

Tears burned in her eyes. “Yes.”

He blinked at her, his eyebrows raising. “Yes?”

She nodded with a smile. “Always yes.”

Ben chuckled a laugh in disbelief, and Rey crashed into him in excitement, her arms wrapping around his neck. He stumbled back in surprise, but kept his balance. His hands came around her small frame as he spun around on his heel. Rey was lifted off her feet, and she shrieked in surprise, but Ben held a firm arm underneath her. She smiled as she pulled away from the crook of his neck, her hands laying lightly against his cheeks as he looked up at her.

“I’m with you,” he said. “Forever.”

“Forever,” Rey agreed. 

With that, she pressed a kiss to his lips in the warmth of the setting sun. 

Rey pulled away from Ben, but it is a different time in a different place. 

The sun is setting over the horizon of Naboo, just beyond the waters of their home. The lush greenery and large expanses of water on the planet never grew old to Rey, and she was always left in awe of its existence. When Ben brought her to the planet for the first time seven years prior and told her it would be their new home, Rey nearly cried knowing she’d be surrounded by such life. 

Many things had changed since then, the biggest difference being the two small humans held at both Rey’s and Ben’s hip. Twins, much to their surprise, named Von and Aleah. Named after the story Rey and Ben were rewriting: hope and a new home. 

Both Von and Aleah were only five years old, too young to begin Jedi training, though they marveled greatly at the several things their parents could do and had force sensitivities of their own. Aleah took to her father’s younger days, all fire and power, with the way things blew out around them with every tantrum. Ben was always there to comfort her and bring things to a calm. Von, however, took after his mother in his own quietness and observances. Rey was always there to listen to Von and offer him the care any parent should. Surprisingly, Rey and Ben were able to understand each child ever better through their life bond, the one that still ran strong after so many years.

The couple had quite an interesting past couple of years.

After Ben’s proposal, he took Rey to Naboo for the first time. He revealed it was the planet his grandmother was from, the beautiful woman she’d seen with him when she brought him back on Anch-To. It was where she and his grandfather had planned to raise their children together, before those plans were tragically thwarted for more evil ones. They agreed to make it their new home and raise their children there not only in their memory, but also how deeply they both fell in love with the planet’s beauty.

It was a brief visit that first time.

Rey and Ben traveled the galaxy together, going to this planet and that for nearly two years. They couldn’t deny that they caused a little trouble everywhere they went, but that was partly due to their new fame. All across the galaxy they became known as Rey of Jakku and Ben Solo, the scavenger turned Jedi and prince of Alderaan, that fell in love across opposite sides of the war. It became a well-known story of love and hope.

They married on Naboo, built a Jedi temple, and bore children. 

The Jedi Temple was beautiful, right along the water. Finn had been their first student, but more quickly followed after him. Nearly all of their padawans were children, and it was nothing short of odd to see Finn among them, but he never seemed to mind. The children were always in awe to see Rey and Ben in the flesh, and it took too many moments to get them focused on what they were learning each day.

Leia had created a New Senate to effectively combat whoever would come in the future to bring a disbalance. She visited them often, and Ben spoke to her nearly every day. Chewie had stayed with her, as he had promised Han he would take care of her, but he accompanied her with every visit. He loved entertaining Von and Aleah and causing some mischief with them.

Rose was second-in-command to Leia, her right hand and defender. Her work in the Resistance had ignited a passion in her for the protection of all life and justice. Finn was completing his Jedi training as Rose served in command, and they had plans to marry once he finished his training.

Poe and Zorri were off in the galaxy somewhere. Rey and Ben received messages from them every other month or so of them in another system, on another planet. Whatever they were doing, they were having fun.

As for Rey and Ben, this was only the beginning.

They looked into the setting sun with hope gleaming in their eyes.

Happy, together, at last.

**The end.**


End file.
